Sustainability as a Business Plan

Sustainability: of, relating to, or being a method
of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource
is not depleted or permanently damaged.

The word sustainability has become one of the most potent business buzz words of the 2000s.

As customers become more educated about (and concerned for) the environment, companies large and small are jumping on the sustainability bandwagon.

Large companies, like Nestle SA, have been implementing sustainability plans that not only reduce the use of virgin packaging materials, but also reduce energy consumption and promote recycling.

Nestle has been working on its plan for about 20 years and has managed to cut between 80 and 100 million pounds of packaging material from its production in that time, according to an recent article published by Packaging World.

In addition to their reduction of materials, Nestle also cuts energy consumption by creating energy efficient products. The company's popular Nespresso coffee machines are designed to automatically switch off after nine minutes of inactivity.

In the United Kingdom, Nestle trucks use liquefied natural gas or biomethane for transporting certain products, while full-electric trucks deliver ice cream and frozen food in Switzerland.

Smaller companies, like Evive Station, have built their company solely around the idea of waste reduction. (Currently found only on the West Virginia University campus, with new locations coming soon.)

According to an article published by RFID Journal, Evive Station provides customers with a low cost re-fillable water bottle that contains a small radio frequency identification device. Customers then take the Evive bottles to any Evive water kiosk and have the bottle automatically cleaned and refilled with filtered water, for free.

Evive Station water kiosk.

Evive Station earns revenue not by selling water, but instead by selling customized ads that are played on a screen embedded in the kiosk machine while it re-fills a customer's bottle.

So how do these companies turn ecologically friendly business practices into profit? 

The answer is simple, through education and exposure.

Even though Evive and Nestle are very different companies, in scale and product, they share a common practice. Both companies use their strides in sustainability as a direct sales pitch to potential customers.

Nestle touts the recyclability and material reduction of their product packaging right on the package for potential customers to see. Meanwhile, Evive has adopted the mantra “less is more,” meaning their system sends less waste to landfills while saving their customers more money (compared to purchasing bottled water).

Find out how you can raise your company's sustainability while reducing your costs by talking with a United Packaging Supply product specialist.